Mom’s Carrot Pie

Mom’s Carrot Pie

My mom moved to South Carolina just under a year ago, and I miss her for many reasons. The first Super Bowl party without my family was a little rough because I have to start new traditions after losing an old one. My husband was a little bummed to miss out on the tradition of drinking Scotch with my stepdad while watching the big game. Scotch is what has made watching the football game tolerable for my husband. I miss the crazy amounts of food my mom has always made for the game.

Really, I miss my mom’s cooking, and not just for the Super Bowl. As much as she tells me what great cooks we are, nothing compares to a home-cooked meal made by my mom—even the ones she declares “just okay.” My mom is also a champion baker of pies. Thanksgiving frequently includes a pie per person who attends, and we are laden down with pies after Thanksgiving. One of the pies my mom makes is a carrot pie with a crumbled topping, and it’s delicious. The first time she made it, I was skeptical. Carrots? The skepticism didn’t last long: Carrot pie is like pumpkin pie on steroids.

The kiddos have turned up their noses at eating carrot pie without even tasting it. That’s just fine. More for me to savor and to reminisce over my mom’s carrot pie.

I typed up my mom’s instructions for making carrot pie. She didn’t include the spices, so I had to hobble it together based on her suggestions (cinnamon, cardamom—which I didn’t have—ginger, nutmeg, and ground cloves to replace the one tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice, which is a spice my mom doesn’t believe in, ha).

I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does, and you can create your own nostalgic moments in the years to come.

Ingredients for the pie filling:

2 cups pureed carrots (I probably used over a pound of carrots; don’t be like me and steam batches of carrots twice)

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

2 eggs, beaten

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp allspice

¼ tsp cloves

Ingredients for the pie topping:

½ cup unpacked brown sugar

¼ cup butter, softened

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Prepare your chosen pie crust and place in pie pan.

Cream brown sugar with butter and chopped pecans for your topping in a small bowl; set aside.

Combine pureed carrots with sweetened condensed milk, eggs, and spices in a medium or large bowl.

Pour the carrot pie filling into the prepared pie pan.

Sprinkle the pie topping over the pie top evenly.

Place aluminum foil over the top of the pie; you do not have to seal the edges.

Bake for 25 minutes with the foil on; remove the foil and bake another 20 minutes or until set and you can insert a knife into the center of the pie and it comes out clean. (Think like pumpkin pie!)